Tag: Eve Langlais

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Last Monday I had a horrible migraine and just couldn’t work up the brain power to write a post – sorry about that. I’ve been having a lot of those lately and ended up having an MRI. Wow – that sucked. lol But…they said all was normal – well, at least as normal as it can be in my case. 😉

So the last time I posted I promised videos. I’ve got one of my youngest doing her Taekwondo thing and one of both my girls playing their bells. The one of my youngest is a bit different than her regular promotions. I cut parts out but she does a few new things with a fan and then a different form that’s kind of a dance. Unfortunately because they played music during that particular form the video isn’t available in all countries – sorry.

And here’s the one of my daughters playing their bells:

My daughters are the bleach blond in the middle and the one that’s 4 down from her (the shortest girl).

I started the week with My Lady, My Lord by Katharine Ashe. This is a lovely story about two people who supposedly hate each other but actually love each other. That doesn’t stop them from arguing constantly. Well, walking a bit in the others shoes – literally – really helps them see each other in a different light. This one was really good and I very much enjoyed it. 4 out of 5

Next up was Once Upon a Billionaire by Jessica Clare. This is book 4 in the Billionaire Boys Club series and it was a good one. We got to see cynical and snobbish Griffin deal with countrified Maylee. She certainly brought him down a notch or two and it was great. You can read my review of this book here. 4 out of 5

Next was Red at Night by Katie McGarry. This is a free novella that shows us Stella who grew up very poor mostly without a dad and Jonah who is trying to deal with a car accident that strongly effected him. The pair are complete opposites but are perfect for each other. I liked the way that McGarry brought the two together and had Jonah looking at a different side of life. 4.5 out 5

Another free novella was You Are Here by Liz Fichera. The story was about a girl who had had tragedy in her past and it had effected her mother, her brother and her financially. They get kicked out of their house and end up in a homeless shelter. She misses her horse and her boyfriend who she thinks cheated on her. The story was sweet and very sad but it was such an involved story I needed it to be longer in order delve farther in. It was just too short for me to feel the depth it needed. 3.5 out of 5

After that I tried to read Rules of Entanglement by Gina L. Maxwell. This was just not for me. I found the heroine to be completely annoying and uptight. DNF (Book Binge book)

Alpha Wolf by Rebecca Royce is the story of Michael Kane who arrives in New Orleans to retrieve his long lost sister but ends up meeting his mate. She is the pack punching bag and he gets pissed. The story is about him cleaning up her pack and dealing with his mate Scarlett and her latent wolf. The story was good but nothing too angsty. 3.75 out of 5

Next up was Between the Devil and Ian Eversea by Julie Anne Long. OMG I love this author! She writes such damned good books I just can’t put them down! This is Ian Eversea’s books, obviously, and he’s paired up with a woman who has lost everything. Everyone thinks she’s this prim and proper thing but she has her secrets. The book was amazing and I loved every minute of it. 5 out of 5

Crash Into Me by Katie McGarry is the story of Rachel who is a sheltered girl who loves cars and speed. She is overprotected by her parents and 4 brothers and sneaks out to drive fast. She end up at a street race and ends up barely escaping from the cops. While at the race she meets and helps Isaiah and they both end up helping each other. When the guy who was running the race thinks that Rachel was the one that called the cops and ripped him off (it wasn’t her) he makes her pay the $5,000.00 back. The story is Isaiah and Rachel figuring out how to raise the money and also with Rachel finding her place in the world and not under her parents thumbs. I really enjoyed this book. I felt so sorry for Rachel and loved who she was when she was with Isaiah. It was a very good book and I can’t wait to read the next in the series. 4 out of 5

Lion and the Falcon by Eve Langlais is book 4 in the Furry United Coalition (FUC) series. The Falcon, Clarice, is on loan from ASS (Avian Soaring Security) and is partnered with a lion, Dr. Nolan Manners, to look for a shifter who was injected by a nut job and then turned mutant. The mutant is after the employees of FUC so Clarice stays with Nolan. The lion cracked me up as he was so pampered but still a man. He was just funny and he was a perfect fit for Clarice. 3.75 out of 5

Last for the week was Doe and the Wolf by Eve Langlais and is book 5 in the same series. The story has Everett the wolf who is a bounty hunter (and previous FUC agent) looking for more mutants for the FUC. He gets hurt by said mutant – a giant gecko – and is saved by Dawn a doe. Dawn is actually one of the mutants but isn’t dangerous. Everett ends up taking her home because he is attracted to her. Unfortunately the gecko wants Dawn as well. The story was cute. It was a little slow but funny as well. 3.25 out of 5

Nothing much happened this past week except a lot of reading so I’ll get right to the books I read:

First I read The Experts Guide to Driving a Man Wild by Jessica Clare. The story focuses on Grant and Brenna who have worked together for years and constantly bicker. When Grants family comes to visit and his mother starts harping him about dating Brenna steps in and pretends to be his girlfriend. Relationship ensues. A great story about opposites attracting and trusting in the one you love. Good story. You can read my review here. 4 out of 5

Next up was Forged in Steele by Maya Banks. This is book 7 in the KGI series and focused on Steele who works for KGI and his falling for a doctor named Maren. They hook up but she’s then kidnapped and Steele has to find her and then never let her go. It was a decent book but I didn’t think there was enough background on the love story. We were brought in when he already had feelings for her – which was good and bad. 3.75 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

My next read was a paranormal story called Scared of Spiders by Eve Langlais. It’s about a woman who has nightmares about spiders and hates them with a passion. She goes to work for werewolves who find that she’s their mate. Unfortunately there really is a giant spider after her and he’s psycho. This wasn’t a bad story – just pretty predictable. 3 out of 5

After the Storm by Maya Banks is book 8 in the KGI series and this one, while parts were really good the romance was rushed completely. Donovan fell in love in 2 days and became a bit of an overbearing jerk. If the romance had been drawn out more this could have really been a great book. You can read my review here. 3 out of 5

Simple Perfection by Abbi Glines. This book has Woods’ father dying and him inheriting all. He turns into a complete jerk who was on overly possessive ass with Della. I couldn’t read that much before I just had to stop. DNF

Hope Flames by Jaci Burton was my next read. The story is about Emma who is a vet and opens a veterinary clinic in her hometown. She has no plans on dating anyone after her past with a controlling idiot until Luke McCormack, hot and sexy cop, comes into the clinic with his dog Boomer. The story was sweet and fun and I really liked this one. 4 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry is a YA book that I read about on Leslie’s blog and had to read. The story follow Echo who is senior in high school who is dealing with a memory loss. Her mother tried to kill her but she’s blocked out that entire day and the docs think that her mind needs to remember on its own so no one will tell her what happened exactly. She meets Noah who is a foster kid and they strike up a friendship and then so much more. This was a really great book. The emotion in this one was wonderful and I couldn’t wait to read the next book. I did think that things were wrapped up a tad bit too pat with her father at the end but it still all worked for me. 4.5 out of 5

Crossing the Line by Katie McGarry is a novella in the above series. Lila was Echo’s best friend in the previous book and has been writing letters to Lincoln, a guy she met only once in her life. When she finds out he lied to her she’s ready to call it quits until he shows up on her doorstep. Good story. Pretty short but still emotionally charged. 3.75 out of 5

Last for the week was The Bride Says No by Cathy Maxwell. Tara is to marry in London but decides that the love she left behind in her hometown in Scotland is the man she really wants. She escapes London 3 days before her out of his marriage contract? This was a decent read that I had some issues with. I post my review later this month. 3.5 out of 5

Yes, this post is going up on Tuesday because I’m seriously hella behind. Things are falling by the wayside as work is wiping me out completely every day. It’s obviously one of the busy seasons here at the church so I’m just trying to keep afloat. I actually only worked half a day yesterday to try and catch up with laundry, housework and completing my holiday decorating. I thought this post was gonna get done at that time but apparently there was just too much to do! lol Crazy.

Anyway, things here are gearing up for Christmas. The kids are so excited about Christmas. We’ll go to my in-laws this Sunday to celebrate as that’s the only time we can all get together. It will be weird on Christmas to just be at home with the hubby and kids. As ALL of my family is all out of state now it’s just us four. I’m sad I won’t see them in person but Skype will be busy that day. 🙂

So….what I read last week:

I started off the week with Christmas Kitsch by Amy Lane. A wonderful book about 2 boys who are so very different but find what they need in the other. It was great and I highly recommend it. You can read my review here. 5 out of 5

Love this chicks hair!

Next was Jealous and Freakn’ by Eve Langlais. The story was about a woman who has known her mate was since she was 10 but he thinks he sees her as a sister and refuses to acknowledge her as his mate. Along comes another shifter and lo and behold, he’s her mate as well. Once he gets jealous he finally decides to admit that he’s wanted her for years but thought it was wrong. This was a fun and funny story that I really enjoyed reading. 4 out of 5

Elite by Rachel Van Dyken was a re-read. I wanted to read Elect which is book 2 in the Eagle Elite series but it’s a complete continuation from book 1…which I hadn’t read for a while. I wanted to be completely in the know so…it was re-read time. You can read my review here. 4 out of 5

Elect by Rachel Van Dyken is the continuing story of Trace & Nixon but also adds Chase, Nixon’s cousin into the mix to make a nice little love triangle. I’m not a fan of love triangles but this one was very readable and didn’t drive me batty – yay! 🙂 You can read my full review of the book here. 4 out of 5

The Scandal in Kissing an Heir by Sophie Barnes is the story of Rebecca who was orphaned and taken in by her aunt and uncle who are horrid. She would do anything to avoid marrying the ancient suitors they have courting her – even fake madness for two years. Now she’s looking for a younger husband and she’s got her eye on Daniel. Daniel HAS to get married according to his uncle or he’ll be cut off. Turns out marriage is the best thing that ever happened to him. Great story. Liked both Rebecca and Daniel a lot. 4 out of 5

Forgiveness: Alek & Rose by Amanda N. Richardson was the story of, you guessed it, Alek and Rose who grew up together and were close friends who were each afraid to stated their true feelings. Then Rose disappears for a year and then comes back to finally tell Alek what’s up, why she left and how she feels about it. The characters were immature at best and Alek had serious anger issues. Rose seemed strong on one hand and then weak at others and I couldn’t get a true handle on her. This one was ok but really not my cuppa. 2 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

The Valentine’s Arrangement by Kelsie Leverich was about tattoo artist Ronnie who lusts after her soldier client Kale. They start a no strings sexual relationship which quickly turns to love. The love happened rather quickly even though they were parted for months. I guess I thought that because Ronnie didn’t talk to Kale the entire time he was deployed. This was a good one but I did have some issues with it. 3 out of 5

His Teddy Bear by Eve Langlais was about a short chubby bear shifter named Teddy who finds out her mate is big, bad, beautiful wolf shifter, Reece. Reece dates tall, leggy blondes so when he first realizes that Teddy is his mate he’s not thrilled. He then gets to know her, despite Teddy’s best efforts to constantly run away, and finally realizes that its what’s inside that counts. Yes, Reece was an ass but I really liked him by the end of the book. 3 out of 5

Top of the morning to you! Uh, afternoon, I mean. Well I started this post this morning but it just didn’t get done very quickly!

There wasn’t a whole lot of action in Tracyland this week so I’ll just get on to what I read. 🙂

First on the list was If Wishes Were Earls by Elizabeth Boyle. I know this doesn’t come out til later in the month – and I’ll be posting my review later as well – but I was so looking forward to this story. The book was about Harriet and the man she loves, Roxley. Roxley wants Harriet as well but he’s being blackmailed into marrying another woman. The book is their story and it was a good one. I did have a couple of issues with it but nothing huge. 4 out of 5

Rumor Has It by Jill Shalvis was up next. The story was a great one and had us reading about Kate who is a giver and a doer for everyone but herself, and Griffin who is back from the Army and is completely out of place – or so he thinks. I really enjoyed this one as I have all Shalvis books lately. 🙂 4.25 out of 5 (read for Book Binge.)

Next up was a paranormal called Delicate Freakn’ Flower by Eve Langlais. This one made me laugh out loud more than once. Naomi is the only girl in a sea of brothers and she hates that they argue and fight all the time. her parents’ house is always wrecked and she hates that too. She moved out and always has a serene home. She meets her mates, Ethan and Javier, but refuses to accept them as she just sees them as brute shifters just like her brothers and wants nothing more than to marry a staid human. She is stubborn and has a serious temper but insists she’s a delicate freakin flower. lol The story was fun and funny and sexy and I liked it a lot. 4 out of 5

My next read was Sweet Revenge by Rebecca Zanetti. The story follows Matt who was born in a test tube and raised to be a soldier and killer at the whim of a psycho. He and his brothers escaped but are in dire need of help before they all die due to implants in about six weeks time. Matt’s in Charmed, Idaho, looking for a doctor that they’ve tracked down, who can possibly help them with deactivating the implants, when he meets Laney – a bar owner. This is their romance. A good one, lemme tell ya. You can read my review here. 4 out of 5

On A Highland Hill by Kara Griffin is a medieveal historical romance that has Kenneth McInnish marrying Elisa Macquarrie for her own protection. Neither wants the marriage but they must keep her hidden from the Scottish King and a man who had kidnapped her and kept her captive for 5 years. This was a good story and I’ll be posting my review of it this week. 4 out of 5

Last for the week was A Christmas to Remember by Jill Shalvis, Kristen Ashley, Hope Ramsay, Molly Cannon and Marilyn Pappano. This was a great Christmas anthology! I’ll post my review of it this week as well. 4 out of 5

Thrust into a nightmare, Thea thinks all hope is lost, until an unexpected rescue by three strangers. Forget returning to her old life though, because not only does a psycho vampire want her back, a trio of wolves wants to claim her as their mate.

What started out as a search for his missing sibling, turns into a rescue mission of a woman who makes his inner beast howl. Trent knows it wrong to want his dead brother’s mate, but he can’t help himself, and neither can his friends. However, danger stalks the one they want and they’ll have to face true evil before they can set her free.

And for an outcast wolf, the path to redemption is lonely. Can Jaxon ever atone enough to be welcomed back to his pack and into the arms of the woman he loves?

Eve Langlais is one of those authors who,by her own assertion, is always trying to “push the envelope” beyond what current culture and mores will permit in real life. She has certainly pleased her readers with the paranormal ingredients in her novellas and stories, and she is not on the third book in a series involving a werewolf pack that has had its problems. Right from the get-go I was to say that I have read a number of Langlais stories and, for the most part, have liked them all a lot. I was a bit put off when I read the first book in this series, Defying Pack Law, almost a year ago and wondered who this would continue on. Recently I came across book two–Betraying the Pack–and when I finished that one realized that this third book had been released. And while it is, for the most part, able to be read as a stand alone work, I think reading the first two books will make this book far more understandable and the story will hold together with greater cohesion. It is true that four new characters are introduced in this story. But at the heart of the story is the continuing “journey” of Jaxon, a mulato werewolf whose encounter with Roderick, the rogue, half wolf/half vampire (who exercises remarkable mind control when his victims are at their weakest and plants hipnotic “triggers” in them at that time) brought about his betrayal of his mates and his pack.

Each of these stories brings the reader more fully into Roderick’s evil and the stories of his victims. It also expands on the relationship Roderick formerly sustained with his son who is now the Alpha of the Pack. It is Roderick’s delusion and mental illness that injects his evil into the minds and lives of other wolves, especially “dormant” wolf shifter females who become the objects of his obsession to birth and build an army of shifters who are under his mental control. Book 2 is about Jaxon’s mate, Bailey–the woman he loves dearly and who he betrayed to Roderick when she became pregnant. Now in this third book there is another pregnant female who was lured into a love relationship with a wolf shifter already under Roderick’s control and who is now imprisioned with the object of eventually taking her baby.

All tree of these books are built around this Pack’s rule that because of an imbalance between male and female shifters, every female must take at least two husbands, but unlike former times, the choice of who those mates will be is the woman’s choice. While all the books in this series have a definite dark side, this third book has darker and with a sense of loss that is not present in the other two. There certainly is an erotic element here–of course, with three wolves lusting after the same woman, but these men are aware that Thea, the heroine, must be the one to choose. As a result, there is that sense that these shifters are hanging back a bit, allowing attraction to grow while they keep themselves in check.

One aspect of Ms Langlais’ writing that I have always appreciated is that her characters are all very different. I think the personality of many shifters tends to look just like every other shifter, but here you have three distinct personality types–Trent, who is the rough and tough Alpha of a smaller pack that has come to the larger pack for protection, but who is very much still his own man; Marc, a fun-loving guy who is very much able to hold his own in a brawl, but who is far less aggressive in male/female settings; and Darren, a strong wolf who could easily be an Alpha but who is comfortable being Trent’s “second” and best friend, the one who sees Thea’s terror and hurt after her imprisonment by Roderick, and who displays much greater sensitivity to her as an individual; and then there is Jaxon, the lonely, grieving, and determined wolf who will kill Roderick if it is the last thing he does, all in the name of keeping his mate, Bailey, safe. Characters from all three books make their appearances in this third book, and help to flesh out the story for those who have not read the first two in the series.

I have to say that I enjoyed these three stories and found them fun paranormal reading. I think I liked each one because I had read the preceding ones and was familiar with the characters and the contexts that were carried over. I would like this writer to venture forth and write a really meaty, full-length paranormal novel. I think she is moving in that direction as her novellas are getting longer and the stories more involved. This author has written romances with varied relational configurations, but this series is a menage in all three books.

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